31 replies to this topic

[stu125]

Hi Guys

New here & not computer savvy & need help

I have a HT8000PVR that I purchased a few years ago. It has started playing up & I need some advise

If you select the menu to go into the HD it all freezes & you cant actually select any of the recorded shows.
Some times when changing channels it starts to freeze as well. It on freezes for a second then plays normally for 5 seconds then freezes again. It can do this for a coulpe of minutes.

It does the same thing when you try to watch a program whilst recording

I have reformatted the HD & re scanned all the programs & so far tonight no dramas but I know it is going to happen again.

Can anyone offer any advise & also does anyone know someone in Canbeera who repairs them

Thanks

Stu

[donhe7]

Stu123, my first suggestion is that you listen to the unit in a quiet location and also try to find out if your fan inside the unit is running, as this was a common fault with these units, leading to overheating of the power supply and this is known to cause a number of different effects.
    Have you had a look through the looooooong thread on the '8000, on this forum?   If you do read through some of the posts, you will possibly get an idea of what could be wrong, (A guess would be failure of the power supply capacitors, which is not all that difficult to fix, as has been told in some posts in that thread).  


donhe7

Edited by donhe7, 14 February 2012 - 08:12 PM.

[Bazzaa]

Sounds to me like the hard drive is on the way out...

You could try pulling the drive out, plugging it into a PC and running dome proper diagnostics there. I forget which brand the drives in those are (Seagate?), but most drive manufacturers provide basic diagnostic tools on their websites. The other option would be putting a known good SATA hard drive into the Homecast and seeing how it goes, after a format of course. If that yields no joy, then yeah, my next suspicion would be dried out caps in the power supply. Any reputable electronics repair shop should be able to fix that, however such shops are almost a thing of the past these days.

[stu125]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the advise
Went to a repair shop today & they didnt want to touch it as they dont know where to get parts for it.

I need to be able to record next weekend so I bit the bullet & purchased a Topfield 7160.

It seems to have fixed my weak siggle issue ( another post )


The fan on the unit is still working but the box does get bloody hot.

Im going to purchase a Tablet stand with a fan in it for the new one to sit on to try & eliminate some of the heat issues.

[donhe7]

stu125, on 20 February 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

Hi Guys

Thanks for the advise
Went to a repair shop today & they didnt want to touch it as they dont know where to get parts for it.


The fan on the unit is still working but the box does get bloody hot.

Stu 125, It sounds like the place you took it into might have more interest in selling new devices than fixing older units.

Did you take the top off and have a look at the Power supply capacitors?,...... they could be showing signs of bulging,
possibly signs of "goo" on the printed circuit board around them.

The statement that "they don't know where to get parts for it" is the most ridiculous statement you could imagine,

we're not talking about a ROLLS ROYCE MOTOR CAR, with specialised bits hand made, it's an electronic device and the

likelihood of a blown circuit board is remote.  The complete set of power supply capacitors could cost you less than $50,
and that would include the price of an electric soldering iron to replace them.
Replacing the capacitors would do no harm, IF, on the other hand, the HDD is faulty, (less likely, the first thing a lot of ppl
decide to pull out, coz its' big and easy to do), but my own experience with this unit (and other brands), is the power supply
capacitors

Also, keep the unit in a well ventilated area, you will find in some user manuals they recommend 100 mm clearance all round
their devices, and not to use in enclosed cabinets

donhe7

[Bazzaa]

The unit "stalling" whilst using it indicates that the error correction on the hard drive is running into overtime. Given that it happens during recording, playback and timeshift, bit obvious... Anyway...

Very easy to prove one way or the other. Drives are cheap and they're easy to swap. No need to overthink this.

By the way, a coolong pad from a laptop won't help a great deal. Just make sure the Toppy has a good 50mm or more clearance top, sides and back. At least it will do a lot more useful tricks with the correct TAPs. (hint: autosched for TMS)

Edited by Bazzaa, 20 February 2012 - 09:34 PM.

[superbunny]

Well guys I did love my Homecast 8000, but now it's dead. A few months ago I had trubble turning it off with the remote so I just turned it off at the plug on the wall. Now it's completly dead, nothing, turned its toes up. I read about the caps and hard drive but I didn't get those simptoms so I don't know what to do next. Any help please it was too good to throw out in its day and I'd love to get it going again.

[mtv]

superbunny, on 27 February 2012 - 08:58 PM, said:

Well guys I did love my Homecast 8000, but now it's dead. A few months ago I had trubble turning it off with the remote so I just turned it off at the plug on the wall. Now it's completly dead, nothing, turned its toes up. I read about the caps and hard drive but I didn't get those simptoms so I don't know what to do next. Any help please it was too good to throw out in its day and I'd love to get it going again.

Faulty caps can produce all kinds of problems.

Have you actually inspected, tested, replaced the caps?

If not, that's where I'd start looking.

[clipper]

One more thing. If you're not using the PVR then keep it turned off, ie on standby. Most PVR's can be setup to turn on and off if you have timer recordings in place. I have an old toppy PVRt that's still going after 8 years. 'Keep it cool' is the motto.

[superbunny]

mtv, on 27 February 2012 - 09:54 PM, said:

Faulty caps can produce all kinds of problems.

Have you actually inspected, tested, replaced the caps?

If not, that's where I'd start looking.

Thanks, as I can't see anything wrong with them I assumed they were alright but if you say replace them then I will and see what happens. Any idea which caps to replace? I assume to start with the power supply ones first?

Edited by superbunny, 04 March 2012 - 08:53 PM.

[donhe7]

superbunny, on 04 March 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

Thanks, as I can't see anything wrong with them I assumed they were alright but if you say replace them then I will and see what happens. Any idea which caps to replace? I assume to start with the power supply ones first?

Start with the two 3300uF units in the "crowded" area , these are the most likely prospects, but make sure you obtain 105 degree units, of the next higher voltage rating than the existing ones.  Also, avoid the Suntan brand ones, as they will fail in a very short time in this application.

donhe7

[AndyM]

Could someone please tell me how to create folders in the archive list.  I've done it in the past but for some reason cannot do it now.  I followed the manual instructions but didnt work, ie go to jukebox mode, hit ok, however no 'create folder' option menu appears.  What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.

[oscwilde]

Are you using this manual?

http://www.homecasta...047A_Manual.pdf

YELLOW BUTTON
UP/DOWN BUTTONS (choose create in dialog)
OK

I wrote a later version of the manual for the 105.1 firmware - but it was never posted by DPG.
If anyone has some space to host it...let me know.
Dave

BTW - later firmware versions 105.1A and 105.3A are hosted here:
http://pvr-tools.com...cast/HT8000PVR/

Edited by oscwilde, 19 March 2012 - 05:48 PM.

[Statek]

The 'OK' button on my HT8000 remote only works after several hard pushes, other buttons are also showing their age.
I've bought a remote repair kit from RS Components to repaint the button contacts but have not been able to open the remote.
Anyone know how to get the remote open?

Statek

[donhe7]

Statek, on 17 April 2012 - 06:49 PM, said:

The 'OK' button on my HT8000 remote only works after several hard pushes, other buttons are also showing their age. I've bought a remote repair kit from RS Components to repaint the button contacts but have not been able to open the remote. Anyone know how to get the remote open? Statek

After experimenting with the remote, I found that by inserting a stout knife blade in the join at the ends of the remote and twisting it gently I was able to remove the two strips on the side of the remote, then gently sliding the blade into the now exposed join, I was able to part the two sections of the case.

All this must be done GENTLY, and the knife blade not inserted too deeply, or damage to the internals could occur, so BE CAREFUL!!!

donhe7

[Bustopher]

AndyM, on 07 March 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

Could someone please tell me how to create folders in the archive list.  I've done it in the past but for some reason cannot do it now.  I followed the manual instructions but didnt work, ie go to jukebox mode, hit ok, however no 'create folder' option menu appears.  What am I doing wrong?

Okay, you need to be in the "Favourites" mode (the far-right icon with a picture of a person on it).

When you get there, you need to highlight a file (the first one you want to create a folder with), then you need to navigate on the right-hand side display to the folder where you wish to create the new folder (ie it is pefectly okay to have a folder within another folder, although most ARE made at the top level).

You then hit the yellow button over the highlighted file, and it will display three options - add to playlist, add to favourites or create a new folder.  Naturally you use the "create New Folder" option, hit OK and the file will magically move into a folder in the directory you specified.   Then you can add other files into the directory you just created by using the Favourites options.

Now, the FIRMAWARE you have installed can change this - I am giving instructions for the very latest version (101.5.3) but there were substantial changes made in the way this function worked - I remember with earlier firmware versions it was completely different :-)

Edited by Bustopher, 03 December 2012 - 08:08 PM.

[donhe7]

Bustopher, on 03 December 2012 - 08:05 PM, said:

Hi there Bustopher, good to see you back on deck, how's your Homecast going, ours is still doing its job (as it should), I wonder how the rest of the owners are going, especially those who have asked for solutions to problems, then not let us all know how they went, whether we helped or not, with our various suggestions
We can't help but wonder, when we offer such solutions, did they work??

donhe7

[mwd]

I replaced mine with a Magic MTV4000. I had a problem whereby the fan only ran when the unit was in standby but not when in action.
The only way I could stop it from constantly cutting out was to reposition it on top of the rack and remove the outer cover to get a cooling breeze around it.

The Magic is far superior runs cool (seperate12v supply) and the software is more user friendly and the PQ magnificent.

Edited by mwd, 05 December 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[dan.pas]

Hi guys, need some help here, I have no idea what has happened to my Homecast.

My Homecast must have frozen or something when it turned on automatically for a recording, because the time and date on the homecast screen was stuck on a day a week ago. Nothing was happening but, the unit was on, but I couldn't change the channel turn it off and no signal was coming through to the TV. So I flicked the switch at the back. Let it rest for 24 hours and then switched it back on.

When I switch it back on, it sounds like it turns on and things are happening inside the box, however nothing comes up on the homecast screen (it is just black) and the TV says no signal.

Has anyone heard of this problem? Is it possible to fix it, and if so, how?

Really appreciate some help or advice.

Thanks

[NGICosta]

Hi all, recently a problem has developed with my HT8000:
although recording a single program still works fine, recording two programs simultaneously results in both programs being full of glitches and jumps - so many glitches that they are unwatchable. This is true even if both programs are just SD.
It didn't always used to be like this. When I first got the unit (3 years ago) the dual recording worked fine.

I don't think the problem is in the antenna/reception/signal, because if I watch one of the programs (on the PVR) while it is recording that same program plus also recording another program, the program seems fine while watching, but is full of glitches when played back - so I suspect a HDD problem.

I had the idea that too much file fragmentation on the HDD might be a problem, so I reformatted the HDD - but the dual recording problems persist even with an empty HDD after reformatting.
I tried upgrading the S/W to 1.05.3A (I had previously been on 1.04.3A), but found that dual recording was still just as bad after the S/W upgrade.

BTW, recording glitches also occur if recording one program while playing back a previous recording. Likely this is related to the dual recording issue.

Having read previous forum post about capacitor failures, I opened the lid and checked inside. Nothing "looked" out of the ordinary (as far as I could tell). I did blow out a far amount of dust, but the dual recording problems still persists.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? I would love to know how to fix this - as I am otherwise still very happy with the functionality of this unit.
(The USB connection to PC allowing easy program renaming, sorting and archiving is a major feature of me).

Thanks

[jayeff]

Hello,

I have just resurrected a Homecast HT8000, (faulty 3300uF caps x 2, noisy fan and faulty HDD). it seems to be working OK but I have a couple of questions please.

I would like to know if I can do a firmware update directly from the current loaded version 1.02.0A to the latest available,  or should I update it in stages to the latest or leave well enough alone and leave it as is?

Also could someone advise if there is a problem with received signal level. The unit's signal level indicator shows a mid level on quality and near nil to mid level on strength on all channels. However when I connect a DTV or another STB to the aerial lead they both show nearly full strength signal and quality. When using the Homecast I can watch a channel (any channel) with no problems but when I change channels it gives a no signal message even when I go back to the one that I was just watching. I have to rescan to get the picture/sound back again even though the channels still show in the list
When I did an initial scan it picked up all the available TV and Radio channels without any problems.

regards,
jayeff

[donhe7]

jayeff, on 16 April 2013 - 07:03 PM, said:

Hello,

I have just resurrected a Homecast HT8000, (faulty 3300uF caps x 2, noisy fan and faulty HDD). it seems to be working OK but I have a couple of questions please.

I would like to know if I can do a firmware update directly from the current loaded version 1.02.0A to the latest available,  or should I update it in stages to the latest or leave well enough alone and leave it as is?

Also could someone advise if there is a problem with received signal level. The unit's signal level indicator shows a mid level on quality and near nil to mid level on strength on all channels. However when I connect a DTV or another STB to the aerial lead they both show nearly full strength signal and quality. When using the Homecast I can watch a channel (any channel) with no problems but when I change channels it gives a no signal message even when I go back to the one that I was just watching. I have to rescan to get the picture/sound back again even though the channels still show in the list
When I did an initial scan it picked up all the available TV and Radio channels without any problems.

regards,
jayeff

Hi there, jayeff, there is no problem with a straight upgrade to the latest firmware, this may be the answer to your problem, I have not had the problem you have at present, and I have been running the last listed firmware virtually ever since it was released.
If you have difficulty downloading the firmware, let us know, and we could try to assist you with it

donhe7

[ElCaito]

dan.pas, on 19 December 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Hi guys, need some help here, I have no idea what has happened to my Homecast.

My Homecast must have frozen or something when it turned on automatically for a recording, because the time and date on the homecast screen was stuck on a day a week ago. Nothing was happening but, the unit was on, but I couldn't change the channel turn it off and no signal was coming through to the TV. So I flicked the switch at the back. Let it rest for 24 hours and then switched it back on.

When I switch it back on, it sounds like it turns on and things are happening inside the box, however nothing comes up on the homecast screen (it is just black) and the TV says no signal.

Has anyone heard of this problem? Is it possible to fix it, and if so, how?

Really appreciate some help or advice.

Thanks

Hi Dan.

Wow I rejoin this great forum and what do I see on the top of the discussions? Another bloody Homecast issue! LOL
I left the forums actually because the homecast answered all my needs and prayers over 4 years ago. But now! Boy it seems homecast have timed it so all their units die at exactly on April 2013!

My unit is doing exactly what you've described above.

I am going to give the capacitors and HDD a try as stated above and see if I can revive this great little unit.

By the way, I have all the homecast firmware files up to 1.07A I believe being the last one released. I also have PDFs on how to change the unit to remove Freeview. If you need a copy guys, just let me know or I am happy to host on a public server if someone could point me in the right direction there?

Cheers

[jayeff]

Hello donhe7,

Thanks for the reply.
I've already downloaded from pvr-tools.com the latest and apparently last firmware update file, (Version 1.05.3A), for the Homecast HT8000  

Which is the more reliable way to update, the Main Power switch on whilst holding the on button, with the USB drive inserted (update file in root of drive), until "updating" visible in the viewing window method or the update through the menu options way?

Cheers,
Jayeff

p.s. I solved the signal level problem. It was between the aerial lead plug and Homecast socket. The "inner" male plug connector was thinner than the "inner" female socket connector, ( found by wriggling the plug up and down). So I crimped the socket connector so that it is a snug fit. (for snug read tight). The signal level readings are now the same as it was for the DTV alone.

Edited by jayeff, 18 April 2013 - 12:06 AM.

[ElCaito]

Jay,

Your are correct. The power button and switch with usb trick is the easiest. Forget rs232.